Sensitive-action access via autocreation reauthentication bypass
Published Feb 2, 2026 · Updated Feb 2, 2026
Authentication bypass in MediaWiki before 1.39.13, 1.42.7, 1.43.2, and 1.44.0 allows remote attackers to skip reauthentication. AuthManager treats automatic account creation as a fresh login, so its recent-authentication state is satisfied without a credential check. Exploitation requires account autocreation plus access to a sensitive action, and it bypasses only reauthentication rather than granting new permissions.
Summary
What happened
Authentication bypass in MediaWiki before 1.39.13, 1.42.7, 1.43.2, and 1.44.0 allows remote attackers to skip reauthentication. AuthManager treats automatic account creation as a fresh login, so its recent-authentication state is satisfied without a credential check. Exploitation requires account autocreation plus access to a sensitive action, and it bypasses only reauthentication rather than granting new permissions.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-6597
- Published
- Feb 2, 2026
- Updated
- Feb 2, 2026
- Vendor
- Wikimedia Foundation
- Product
- MediaWiki
- Classifications
- CWE-22, T1078
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Feb 2, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Feb 2, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=* <1.39.13, 1.42.7, 1.43.2, 1.44.0
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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